If you have never used ladybugs in your gardening endeavors, you are truly missing out on the power of nature! You can find live, pre-fed ladybugs at our local Garden Center in Fort Collins, CO. Ladybugs are extremely beneficial, especially if you are struggling with unwanted pests on your plants garden fruits and vegetables, annual flowers, perennial plants, trees, or shrubs. No matter what your gardening entails, be it vegetable gardening, flower gardening, landscaping plants, houseplants, or trees and shrubs, ladybugs may be just the help you need if you are looking for natural, sustainable solutions!
Why Use Ladybugs in Your Garden
Ladybugs are beneficial to use in your garden because they are one of the most predatory insects there are. This means that, if there is a healthy population of ladybugs in your garden, you are not likely to experience many issues with common pests such as aphids, mealybugs, scale, spider mites, thrips, or whiteflies. A ladybug's diet consists of pests such as these, along with pollen, so introducing ladybugs to your garden beds or other plants will help keep the pest population in check and avoid any damage to your plants.
The Benefits of Gardening with Ladybugs
Gardening with ladybugs has many benefits, the main one being that it helps avoid the need to buy and use expensive products to help keep your plants safe from unwanted pests. Here are a few related benefits:
Using Ladybugs is Less Costly
If you are experiencing a pest issue with any of your outdoor plants, depending on the severity of the situation, coming up with a solution can be costly and time-consuming. Our live, pre-fed ladybugs cost less than the average pest control solution, and application is as simple as letting them out of their container.
Using Ladybugs can be a Long-Lasting Solution
Ladybugs also serve as a longer-lasting solution, as compared to the use of other pest control products. Ladybugs will stay in the area and help mitigate the pest population as long as there is food for them to feed on.
Using Ladybugs is a Natural and Sustainable Solution
Ladybugs are living organisms that are already a part of nature and the natural cycles of the Earth. This makes them the most sustainable and natural option you could choose!
Using Ladybugs can be More Effective
Ladybugs are often more effective, as they will stick around for as long as there is food for them to eat. This means that they will stay in the area until all the pests are gobbled up, whereas other pest control solutions might require repeated applications to be successful.
Do You Have an Existing Pest Problem?
Most of us start looking for a solution when the problem has already presented itself. If you find yourself in this situation, worry not! You can purchase ladybugs at Bath Garden Center and release them near where you are experiencing issues with pests on your plants. The ladybugs will stay in the area until all of the pests have been eaten, and they do this quite effectively, with each ladybug being capable of eating approximately fifty bugs per day!
Use Ladybugs as a Preventative Measure
Ladybugs can also be used as a preventative measure to make sure that no pests last long enough to be able to cause a problem. If you already notice a healthy population of ladybugs in and around your garden beds, that means you are already doing something right! If you do not notice many ladybugs buzzing about, you can purchase a container of 1,500 ladybugs to release in your garden or around your flowers, trees, shrubs, or perennial plants.
How to Maintain the Population of Ladybugs
Whether you already have a healthy population of ladybugs living in your garden, or if you are considering purchasing some to introduce to your garden beds, you are going to want to make sure that the ladybugs stick around to perform their duty as expected.
Keep Ladybugs Around
If you have purchased ladybugs either as a preventative measure or to fix a current pest issue, you are going to want to make sure they stick around even after the pest problem has been dealt with. You can do this by planting certain flowers that attract them. Like we said above, ladybugs feed on both other insects and pollen. Here are a few types of plants that ladybugs prefer in particular:
Angelica
Calendula
Caraway
Chives
Cilantro
Cosmos
Dill
Fennel
Feverfew
Marigold
Statice
Sweet Alyssum
Yarrow
Attract Ladybugs to Your Garden
If you do not want to buy ladybugs and simply want to know how to attract them to your garden, it is recommended to plant things that they will be attracted to. Luring in ladybugs definitely takes longer, as it depends on how long it takes for them to find your property. But incorporating plants that are attractive to ladybugs in your landscaping, flowerbeds, or garden area will be the best first step to helping attract ladybugs. Another thing you will want to do is be sure not to use any products that will be harmful to ladybugs. Most insecticides or systemic pest control products do not discriminate and cannot tell the difference between a beneficial bug and a harmful bug. So, make sure you know what products you are using before you use them, and be aware of the consequences.
The Plant Benefit
The beauty of using ladybugs in your gardens and landscaping is that they benefit your plants just as much as (if not more than) they benefit you! Your plants will be more healthy, will grow stronger, will be protected from the threat of pests, and the likelihood of experiencing any of the negative effects of using chemical pest control products will be all but eliminated.
How to Use Ladybugs in the Garden
If you have more questions on the benefits of ladybugs, how to use ladybugs in the garden, how to attract ladybugs, and the like, please let us know. We are happy to help! Also, if you are researching buying lady bugs in Fort Collins, head on over to your local garden center and nursery or shop for ladybugs online! Click here to see lady bugs near me.